Country Diary

The countryside has lost a true countryman, friend, skilled stalker and shoot captain in Charles Fenn, who died suddenly in October

Many readers, particularly stalkers, will be saddened and shocked to learn that Charles Fenn died suddenly on 23 October while on the way to his stalking in Dorset. A close friend for more than 40 years Charles, always cheerful and positive, was a brilliant Shot, not only with a rifle but also with a shotgun.

A few days before his death he had enjoyed a delightful day’s driven pheasant shooting on the modest shoot that he,

I and one other had established several years ago. With input from three or four friends and the addition of an efficient part-time keeper, it has now developed into a thoroughly sporting small shoot. Charles acted as shoot captain, a role he played with efficiency and aplomb, always able to create a pleasant, genial atmosphere throughout the day.

It was fitting that on the opening day of the season, some 50 birds were shot, the highest ever recorded on this modest shoot. I also recall with pleasure the fact that Charles shot 10 birds on the first drive, all retrieved by his daughter Rachael with her black Labrador bitch. It was a day we will recall with a sense of nostalgia and gratitude for having known Charles.

He was a true countryman, brought up on a farm at Clent, on the outskirts of the Black Country. Ferreting was a passion and, inevitably, he progressed steadily up the fieldsports ladder. Charles was fortunate to be introduced to shooting and stalking by his uncle Ronnie (Major Ronald Fortnam) on Caldey Island, off the Pembrokeshire coast. His uncle lived in that county and together they would row to the island to shoot. Charles told me that his uncle was a major influence in his sporting life and he always spoke of him with respect and affection.

I came to know Charles decades ago when I was a novice stalker with only the vaguest notion of the sport. He took me in hand and taught me the basic elements. At that time he stalked in West Dorset and, generously, invited me to accompany him on many occasions. Charles was a skilled and very proficient stalker and only too pleased to instruct and pass on his expertise. He had a passion for the roe rut and was expert at calling a buck, using an artificial call or, with great skill, a leaf.

It was fortuitous that Charles settled in Dorset and, by chance, came to live a mere eight miles from my home in south Somerset. Every year we would stalk his West Dorset ground for sika and roe and, generously, he was always content to invite a friend to join him for a dawn or evening foray. I recall one occasion when, using an American elk call in the sika rut, he called a big stag from 300 yards away. It raced up the field and paused 50 yards away to give me a perfect shot. A heavy beast, we had to drag it for several hundred yards to our vehicle.

Charles did not confine his stalking solely to this country but made regular forays to the Continent, hunting chamois, mouflon and roe. He also brought back a fine gold-medal stag from Hungary and shot an outstanding wild boar in France. I took Charles to hunt the Northern Cape in South Africa and can still picture the moment when he killed a gemsbok bull at 200 yards on the side of a steep hillside. It was an outstanding shot.

Many stalkers, however, will know Charles’s close association with the UK Trophy Evaluation Board, which he joined in 2000, mentored by Richard Prior and receiving his authorisation as a trophy measurer in 2002. He quickly established himself as an accurate and conscientious evaluator, attending many game fairs over the years — the Midland being his favourite. He also had a particular interest in African species, as a result of which he was appointed a senior international trophy judge. He will be greatly missed for his sound judgement and ability to cut to the essence of a debate.

Wherever he went Charles was always popular and respected for his knowledge of stalking and shooting. He will be sadly missed by his many friends, countrywide.

“Charles acted as shoot captain, a role he played with efficiency and aplomb”

Tony Jackson former Editor of Shooting Times, lives in Somerset, stalks, picks-up with Labradors and helps run a small shoot.

Charles Fenn, who died suddenly in October, was a senior international trophy judge with the CIC